


Holding Out for a Hero

by reebye



Series: Fight for Love [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Exes, Getting Back Together, M/M, Mentions of Blood, chans a super hero and minho patches him up after a fight, mentions of side ships, super powers, thats it thats the fic, the hero system is a little weird in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:28:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25604332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reebye/pseuds/reebye
Summary: Every time he sees the hero fight it makes anxiety coil in the pit of his stomach.He shouldn’t care so much but unlike the rest of the city, he doesn't just see some faceless hero when he looks at Nightfall. Instead he sees Chan.OrMinho's Ex is one of the cities heroes, who shows up at his apartment after a fight to be patched up.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Series: Fight for Love [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1979950
Comments: 19
Kudos: 220
Collections: SKZ BINGO - ROUND 1, The Ultimate Minchan Masterlist





	Holding Out for a Hero

**Author's Note:**

> for the skz ship bingo squares super powers/ getting back together/ secret identity 
> 
> i wrote this in the span of about 3 days in an insane haze of inspiration and then had both of my best friends beta it so i'd like to say thanks to them i love you both  
> (and my twitter oomfs who let me rant to them in their dms ily also)  
> ((also yes the title is from the song i need a hero don't judge me))

Minho doesn’t flinch when his phone lights up with the emergency signal that blares every time some self-proclaimed ‘super villain’ launches an attack on the city. Instead he huffs a sigh and switches his TV onto the news to watch the action as he goes about feeding his cats.

The news casters drone the same old commentary over live footage of the police chasing after some giant robot. Minho’s not too interested, it’s nothing he hasn’t seen before.

It’s always been like this, villains trying to make a name for themselves in some way or another only to be thwarted by some hero.

As if on cue, there’s a crash on the broadcast and the news crew starts spouting the same dialogue about the heroes here to save the day that they use every time something like this happens. Minho rolls his eyes, bending down to scratch one of his cats behind the ear while the three of them eat, not bothering to watch .

“ _And from the smoke we see our heroes!”_ The broadcast announces, _“Who will it be today saving us from peril?”_

“Peril my ass.” Minho almost laughs, shakes his head.

There hasn’t been a single civilian injured during one of these ordeals in years. Ever since the city set up hero teams the so-called ‘peril’ has been all but neutralized. The only people who get hurt are the heroes. Heroes are reckless. Heroes will do anything to save the day. Heroes are –

Heroes are stupid.

Minho knows that fact better than anyone.

“ _It’s Nightfall and Velocity!”_

Minho’s head snapped up to stare at the TV. He watches with wide eyes as the cameras focus on the two figures clad in their distinct hero uniforms, masks obscuring their faces from the public. His eyes falling on the broader of the two, Nightfall, his costume black with vibrant purple details. Minho barely even acknowledges the speedster dressed in red and black next to him. Without even noticing he finds himself sitting down on his couch to watch the broadcast.

He shouldn’t be so surprised to see the Hero, it was the other’s job after all. But every time he sees Nightfall it knocks the breath out of him. Every time he sees the hero fight it makes anxiety coil in the pit of his stomach.

He shouldn’t care so much but –

“Chan” Minho mumbles under his breath, biting down on his thumb’s nail “Be careful, you idiot.”

He shouldn’t care so much but unlike the rest of the city, he doesn't just see some faceless hero when he looks at Nightfall. Instead he sees Chan. He sees gentle loveable giggly Bang Chan. It’s the same for Minho with most of the heroes – Velocity isn’t some ultra-speed enigma, he’s the nicest kid out there Lee Felix, who likes to bake. Other teams weren’t strangers either. SpearB and Skywall are Changbin and Seungmin and as far as he remembers they should be celebrating their second anniversary of dating in a few weeks. J.One and Pyrocentric, Jisung and Hyunjin, are the loudest goofiest kids Minho’s ever met.

That’s another thing that makes him care so much. They’re all kids. Chan is the only one of them that’s older than him.

The battle on the TV screen looks the same as every other fight he’s witnessed. He stares, thumbnail being chewed down into a jagged stub from his nerves. He can’t stand watching it, hates seeing Chan fight.

He _shouldn’t_ care so much. Chan isn’t his boyfriend – not anymore at least. But he can’t look away from the screen.

It happens faster than Minho can even process. Chan gets hit by the villain and goes flying backwards into a building, rubble crashing down around him and then the screen goes blank before Velocity – _Felix_ \- even makes it to his side. Minho’s eyes shift from the screen to the remote in his own hand.

_Ah_. He turned it off himself. It’s for the best he doesn’t watch anymore. That’s what he tells himself as he tosses the remote away and curls into himself. It’s better if he doesn’t see this, he decides as he buries his hands in his hair and takes a deep breath.

He doesn’t need to see anymore; he closes his eyes and lets a dry sob rack through his body. Soonie jumps onto the couch next him, rubbing her head against him. He takes a bit of comfort in that, but it doesn’t stop his trembling.

It takes 20 minutes for his phone to light up with the notification that the danger has passed.

**“Victory for Nightfall and Velocity in Another Stunning Battle!** ” the headline reads. A picture of the two Heroes Posing triumphantly, looking far more tattered than they did the last time Minho saw them, adorns the article.

Minho scoffs. At what, he’s not sure. The stupid pose the two of them obviously had too much fun doing? Maybe. The fact that he let himself get so worked up over this? More likely.

**+**

The knock at his front door startles Minho from his place on the couch. He’s ashamed to admit that he hasn’t been able to get himself to move from his spot in the hours since the broadcast. He moves slowly to answer it, unsure of who could possibly be at his door. He never has company over, never expects anyone to be at his door.

He’s barely two feet away from the door when he hears it.

_“Please be home._ ”

Minho immediately recognizes it as Chan’s voice – or, well, Chan’s thoughts.

He takes a deep breath before he unlocks his door, gently pulling it open to reveal the hero dressed in civilian clothes basking in the dim lighting of his apartment building’s hallway. Minho’s fast to catalog the changes in Chan's appearance. Last time he saw Chan his hair was bleached blonde and straightened, he had less muscle, had a sparkle in his eye.

Now Chan’s hair stands dark brown and curly, back to its natural state, his arms and chest bulked up with muscle. The sparkle in his eyes dimmed, replaced with dark circles under his eyes. He looks tired.

“Hey.” Chan greets softly, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips, his dimple just barely denting his cheek.

Minho frowns, furrowing his brow “What do you want Chan?”

“I don’t honestly know” Chan chuckles a little, looking down at the floor, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment “I just-” he cuts himself off.

_“Wanted to see you”_ Minho hears the unsaid words.

“Don’t you have a sidekick you should be helping patch up?” he scowls, his tone is venomous but holds no real punch.

“Felix has his own boy to go home to.” A shrug, “You know that.”

“You’re implying that _I’m_ still your boy.”

“I’m not- I didn’t mean…” Chan stutters out, the tips of his ears heating up to a bright shade of red “Can I come in?”

Minho purses his lips, gives the elder man another once over and it’s only then that he realizes that Chan has an open gash near his hairline and bruises that are darkening on his exposed arms. He sticks his tongue against the back of his teeth and jerks his head back into his apartment. Chan follows him inside, trailing behind almost hesitantly.

“Sit on the couch” Minho instructs as he wanders into the bathroom to find his first aid kit.

He comes back out to Chan gently petting Dori, slow soft motions eliciting a faint but audible purr from the cat. Chan always has been gentle – always had to be with his superpower being strength.

“I haven’t met this one yet.” Chan mentions softly as Minho plants himself on the couch.

“That’s Dori” Minho tells him, placing the kit on his coffee table and opening it “I got her after I – after.”

_“After you left.”_

Minho ignores the comment. Chan didn’t say it out loud so he shouldn’t acknowledge it. Instead he moves to brush the elder’s hair away from the gash in his forehead. His hair damp with blood and sweat, drawing red streaks from where it's dragged across his unmarred skin.

“Fuck,” Minho snorts “The city makes you fight and then can’t even give you proper medical treatment.”

“They don’t make us do anything, Minho” Chan scolds him “It’s our duty to help.”

Minho rolls his eyes, soaking a cotton ball in antiseptic “If you say so.”

They sit in silence as Minho goes about cleaning the wound. He ignores the off handed thoughts of _“pretty_ ” and the like that he accidentally picked up from Chan. Apologizing every time the other flinches away from the cotton ball.

“So,” Minho starts, as he moves to grab the gauze from the kit “How is little Zippy?”

The question comes out sounding a lot colder than he means for it to. Felix is a good kid, he’s someone Minho has always liked. But he’s been trying to distance himself from any affection he holds for any of the heroes in their city.

Chan shoots him a conflicted look before sighing “Felix is fine,” a pause “He’s with Jeongin right now.”

That doesn’t surprise Minho nearly as much as he wishes it did “I see. Is Jeongin still training to join a team?”

“He left too.” Chan smiles sadly at him.

“Can’t say I blame him.”

Jeongin and Minho are essentially the same in that regard.

JYP’s hero training. The few kids that have superpowers get enrolled to train at a young age and when they’re ready, they get put into pairs and sent off to save different cities. Minho was one of those trainees along with Chan, Jeongin, Felix and the rest of the heroes stationed in this city. The thing about telepathy though, is that it's not really all that practical in combat. Sure, it worked fine when they worked in the large group of 8, when he could stay in the base camps and give the other 7 instructions during training sessions. But in hand to hand combat? Well, Minho got his ass handed to him more often than not despite his multiple blackbelts in martial arts.

Jeongin was better at stealth. Being able to shapeshift into a fox let him be great for fitting into small places. Minho supposes the two of them could have been a good team for stealth and reconnaissance. But that thought is too little too late.

“Jeongin kept in contact with us.”

Minho startles at Chan's sudden comment. His eyes snap up from the bandages in his hands to stare at him wide eyed.

“What?”

Chan licks his lips and then repeats “Jeongin kept in contact with us.”

“Yeah, you said Felix was with him.”

“You didn’t.”

Minho gapes at that, mouth opening in shock at the bluntness of the statement.

“I didn’t” he concedes, clenching his jaw shut “It was too hard.”

Chan furrows his brow “Too hard?”

“No one had time to keep in contact with me when I left.” he defends, “ _You_ didn’t have time for me.”

Chan shrinks back at his accusatory tone. Minho shakes his head, takes a deep breath, and motioned for the other to come closer so he could finish dressing his head wound.

He’s gentle as he tapes the gauze to Chan’s forehead.

“It was too hard to talk to everyone after we broke up” he continues, his tone soft “It’s my own fault, Chan.”

“We miss you.” Chan whispers, eyes dropping to his clasped in his lap.

The unspoken _“I miss you_ ” hangs over both their heads.

Minho bites the inside of his cheek. He misses everyone too – misses Chan. He shakes the thought off instead tugging at the collar of Chan’s sleeveless T-shirt.

“Shirt off” he says evenly “I need to see if you have any more cuts I need to mend.”

They sit in silence as he inspects the bruises smattering Chan’s toned torso. It’s hard to see Chan like this. It’s always been hard to see Chan fight, always been even harder to see the aftermath. His hands tremble slightly as he runs his knuckles over a particularly dark bruise on Chan’s lower ribs.

“Min,” Chan calls, his voice soothing – comforting even – as he gently tilts the younger’s chin up to look at him with a single finger, “I’m ok, I promise.”

“You’re reckless when you fight.” Minho warbles out, and it’s only then that he realizes he’s close to tears “You – I hate seeing you fight.”

“You watched the fight earlier?”

“No.” Minho shuts the first aid kit with a huff “I turned it off after you got yeeted into a building.”

And Chan laughs. His eyes regaining their sparkle, dimples prominently displayed now. He rocks forward in his seat a little “Which time?” he teases.

“Fuck you.” He lightly shoves the elder who easily falls against the back of the still shaking from laughter.

It’s comfortable with Chan. He’s always been easy to be around, easy to joke with. Having Chan here, giggling on his couch, it's just like it used to be.

Just like it used to be before Minho broke up with him because he spent more time fighting and getting hurt than he did spending time with Minho. He frowns, standing up from the couch to put the first aid kit away.

Chan’s shirt is back on by the time he comes back but the way the elder is looking at him gives him pause. It’s like Chan knows what he’s thinking – which is uncomfortable to say the least. Minho’s the telepath, he’s not used to someone knowing what he’s thinking, doesn’t think he likes it.

“You know,” Chan starts breaking eye contact to look at the details in the ceiling “Ever since Hyunjin and Jisung became an active team…” he sticks his tongue to the inside of his cheek, a habit he does when he’s trying to find the right words “I’ve had a lot more free time.”

Minho arranges his face into a black expression as he slowly sits down “Is that so?” he voids any emotion from slipping into his voice.

“Can-” Chan cuts himself off, “Do you think-” shakes his head “Will you give me another chance?”

The silence stretches out. If Minho tried, he could probably tune into his neighbor’s thoughts. It was that quiet. But at that moment all he could hear was the own ringing of his ears. The question threw him. He couldn’t think straight. Chan wanted to get back together? What kind of twisted dream was Minho having?

“Minho?” Chan finally looks at him, hesitantly calling out.

Minho’s eyes stay glued to his ceiling though “You want to give it another go? You and me?”

“Yeah,” Chan breathes out “Can we try again?”

Minho clenches his jaw in thought “You realize all I’m gonna do is nag you about being careful.”

“That’s fine” Chan’s fast to reply, fast to accept “I’ll be more careful when I fight.”

“I wish you wouldn’t fight at all.”

“It’s-”

“It’s your duty,” Minho sighs, finally looking back at the older man “I know.”

Chan looks hopeful, his shoulder tense but his eyes unwavering “So?”

“You know why we broke up in the first place, don’t you?”

“I do.” Chan nods “We can work through it though,”

Minho takes a minute to think it over. He doesn’t know if it’s a good idea to get back together with his ex. Chan is, after all, a hero. He’s bound to get hurt time and time again. But –

But maybe Minho could be there to patch him up every time. He’s still in love with Chan. He’s been in love with Chan since they met when they were teenagers. They trained together for years and Minho thinks he still knows Chan better than anyone.

He takes a deep breath “It’ll be a process, you realize,” he says, a smirk spreading across his face “but…”

He watches as Chan’s face lights up, eyes crinkling as he smiles wide “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Chan is tentative as he holds his hand out, palm up, giving Minho the option to take it or not. Minho snorts, grabbing it without much fanfare.

“So, I suppose I should reach out to the other guys, huh?” Minho jokes “Now that I’ll probably be seeing them again soon?”

“Please” Chan laughs “Jisung complains to me daily that he misses you as if I didn’t miss you more.”

Minho laughs, pulling his phone out from his pocket with his free hand “Well if you’re lucky, you won’t have to miss me ever again” he jokes as he simply sends Jisung a picture of Doongie and Dori with the caption of ‘Look!!’.

“If I’m lucky?” Chan grins “I’m gonna work hard to make sure that I don’t.”

Minho smiles, about to answer when both his and Chan’s start getting multiple loud notifications.

“That’s Jisung” Minho laughs, opening his phone to be greeted not only by texts from Jisung but also from Hyunjin and Felix. “And more.”

“Me too” Chan nods scrolling through his own phone “You’ve opened Pandora's box. Everyone’s losing their minds in the Hero group chat.”

“Do I look like a man who fears the contents of Pandora's box?”

“You don’t.” Chan grins, a mischievous glint in his eyes “You wanna cause more pandemonium?”

Minho raises an eyebrow at the older but before he gets to ask what he means the shutter of Chan’s phone camera goes off.

“Can I send them this picture of you without any context?” Chan asks, turning his phone to show the picture.

“Go for it.”

Minho watches as Chan does just that. He sends the picture and then promptly turns his phone off and puts it on the coffee table.

Minho cocks his head to the side in confusion “Won’t you need that to tell you if they need you to go be a hero?”

“After today’s fight?” Chan just shrugs, his grin seemingly plastered to his face permanently “Nightfall and Velocity have at _least_ two weeks off to recover. I think it’s Skywall and SpearB’s shift now. ”

Minho’s phone is still buzzing with notifications, but he ignores it in favor of laughing. He shakes his head, turning the device to silent.

“Do you wanna call in some dinner?” he asks, “You can get me caught up on everything I missed.”

“Well, that might take all night.”

“Then so be it.”

As they smile at each other, Minho can’t help but to think that this is how it’s supposed to be. It feels right. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed!! Feed back in welcome and appreciated!!  
> my [twitter](https://twitter.com/skzdays)  
> my[curious cat](https://curiouscat.qa/skzdays)


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